Is coriander high in histamine?
Coriander (cilantro) has not been tested for histamine; we estimate the fresh leaves mostly low and the seeds low, from data on other leaves and on a group of spices.
- Histamine
- Not measured
- Other amines
- Not measured
- Liberator
- Not on the lists we use
- DAO blocker
- No evidence
What each source says
| Source | Verdict | What it says, in our words |
|---|---|---|
| Leafy vegetables measured in Spain 1 | No histamine in lettuce, traces in chard, an average of 31.77 mg/kg in spinach. Coriander was not tested. | |
| Spices as a food group, 2020 review 2 | No detectable histamine in 12 spice samples; the spices are not named. | |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 3 | Coriander is not on the review's chart of foods the diets exclude. | |
| SIGHI food list 4 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
How freshness and processing change it
Coriander leaves were not measured fresh or stored, and they wilt quickly. Buy bunches that are bright and firm, keep them chilled, and use them within a few days. Dried seeds keep well when sealed.
Not measured; measured leafy greens range from none to high. (estimate)
Not measured; a group of 12 spices had no histamine, but the spices are not named. (estimate)
Not measured; tomato is rated 2. (estimate)
Why we rate coriander 1
Coriander has not been tested for histamine in the studies we use. The name covers two different ingredients, and this page deals with both. The fresh leaves, called cilantro in North America, are a leafy herb. The seeds, whole or ground, are a dried spice.
For the leaves we have no measurement and no storage study. The nearest data are for other leaves, which vary widely. A University of Barcelona team found no histamine in lettuce, traces in chard, 0.79 mg/kg on average, and high levels in spinach, which averaged 31.77 mg/kg across 18 samples and rose in the fridge in another study. Coriander's relative parsley showed no significant change in histamine over three weeks of cold storage in a study the team's 2018 review cites, though no level was published. We rate fresh coriander 1, "mostly low", as an estimate.
For the seeds, the closest figure is a group measurement. A 2020 review from the same team found no detectable histamine in any of 12 spice samples sold in Spain. It does not name the spices, so we cannot say coriander seed was one of them, but coriander seed is a spice in the ordinary sense, dried and not fermented. We rate ground and whole coriander seed 0, "low", as an estimate.
Neither form appears among the foods charted as excluded by the ten published low-histamine diets in the team's 2021 review.
The dishes coriander goes into often matter more than the herb. Fresh salsa is usually built on tomato, rated 2 on this site. Some curry pastes and dipping sauces include fermented ingredients such as soy sauce, fish sauce or shrimp paste. Fermented products can be high: soy-fermented products sold in Spain averaged 73.95 mg/kg of histamine. Check the label of ready-made pastes. A green chutney or herb sauce made fresh from coriander, mint and a squeeze of citrus has none of those ingredients.
Coriander wilts fast. Buy it bright and firm, keep the stems in a glass of water in the fridge, and use it within a few days.
Questions about coriander and histamine
Is cilantro low histamine?
Cilantro has not been measured. We estimate the fresh leaves at 1, "mostly low", because measured leafy greens range from none to high and cilantro has not been placed in that range.
Is ground coriander the same as cilantro?
No. Ground coriander is made from the dried seeds and is a spice; cilantro is the fresh leaf. We estimate the seeds at 0 from a group of 12 spice samples with no detectable histamine, and the leaves at 1.
Evidence behind this page
- Coriander does not appear in the measurement tables of the 2018 or 2021 reviews. 13
- Among leafy vegetables tested in Spain, lettuce had no detectable histamine (4 samples), chard averaged 0.79 mg/kg (8 samples) and spinach 31.77 mg/kg (18 samples). 1
- Parsley kept refrigerated for three weeks showed no significant change in histamine or other amines. 1
- A group of 12 spice samples sold in Spain had no detectable histamine; the review does not name the spices. 2
- Soy-fermented products sold in Spain averaged 73.95 mg/kg of histamine (21 samples). 3
Sources
- Sánchez-Pérez S, Comas-Basté O, Rabell-González J, Veciana-Nogués MT, Latorre-Moratalla ML, Vidal-Carou MC. Biogenic Amines in Plant-Origin Foods: Are They Frequently Underestimated in Low-Histamine Diets? Foods 7(12):205, 2018. doi:10.3390/foods7120205 (Sánchez-Pérez S et al. 2018)
- Comas-Basté O, Sánchez-Pérez S, Veciana-Nogués MT, Latorre-Moratalla M, Vidal-Carou MDC. Histamine Intolerance: The Current State of the Art. Biomolecules 10(8):1181, 2020. doi:10.3390/biom10081181 (Comas-Basté O et al. 2020)
- Sánchez-Pérez S, Comas-Basté O, Veciana-Nogués MT, Latorre-Moratalla ML, Vidal-Carou MC. Low-Histamine Diets: Is the Exclusion of Foods Justified by Their Histamine Content? Nutrients 13(5):1395, 2021. doi:10.3390/nu13051395 (Sánchez-Pérez S et al. 2021)
- Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI). Food compatibility list for histamine intolerance. histaminintoleranz.ch (accessed November 2026), 2026. Link (Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI) 2026)